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Battle of Nikolayevka
|side2= |side3= |side4= |commanders1= |commanders2= |commanders3= |commanders4= |forces1= |forces2= |forces3= |forces4= |casual1= |casual2= |casual3= |casual4= |civilian=}}The Battle of Nikolayevka was fought on 25 and 26 January 1943 by the Tridentina ''Alpine Division from the ARMIR (''Armata Italiana in Russia or Italian Army in Russia) and attached German, Hungarian and Romanian units that were encircled during the final part of the Battle of Stalingrad and retreating in two large columns. The Italian breakthrough was very difficult to achieve due to the extremely low temperatures (-30 to -40 degrees), exhaustion and Russian counter-moves, but the Italian victory "Strong Russian forces had amassed at Nikolayevka in order to prevent the breakout ... In a day-long struggle, the exhausted Italian soldiers made repeated assaults against the Russians in the village. Failure was not an option ... not capturing Nikolayevka meant near-certain death in Russian captivity. The outcome remained in doubt until the evening, when General Reverberi of the 5th Alpini Regiment personally led an attack from atop a German assault gun. The Italians regained the initiative, and the combined attack drove the Russian force from the village. The breakout came at a heavy cost ... Among the many Italian fallen was General Martinat, who was killed while personally leading a charge against the enemy." Regio Esercito: The Italian Royal Army in Mussolini's Wars, 1935-1943, Patrick Cloutier, p. 164, Lulu Press, 2013 allowed 40,000 Axis troops (under Italian command"With Nikolayevka in Alpini hands, thousands of Italians, Germans, Romanians and Hungarians were saved and stumbled into the safety of the Ostheer lines." Death on the Don: The Destruction of Germany's Allies on the Eastern Front, Jonathan Trigg, The History Press, 2013) to continue retreating westwards and reach the new German defensive lines. Prelude On 16 December 1942, the Russians launched Operation Little Saturn, which aimed to advance through the Italian sector on the Don and take German-held Rostov. From the Mamon bridgehead, 15 Russian divisions —supported by at least 100 T34 tanks— attacked the Italian Cosseria, Ravenna and Sforzesca Divisions"From the Soviet bridgehead at Mamon, fifteen infantry divisions supported by no less than one hundred tanks attacked the Italian Infantry Division Cosseria and Ravenna and advanced against Sforzesca, too. Outnumbered 9 to 1, the Italians resisted for two days. A Military History of Italy, Ciro Paoletti, p. 177, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008, and although outnumbered 9 to 1, the Italians were confident"In spite of the unfavourable balance of forces – the 'Cosseria' and the 'Ravenna' faced eight to nine Russian divisions and an unknown number of tanks – the atmosphere among Italian staffs and troops was certainly not pessimistic.... The Italians, especially the officers of the 'Cosseria', had confidence in what they thought were well built defensive positions." All or Nothing: The Axis and the Holocaust 1941–43, Jonathan Steinberg, Routledge, 2003and fought well"During this phase, the Germans praised the steadfastness of Italian infantry, who held out tenaciously even in isolated strongpoints but eventually reached their breaking-point under this constant pressure." The Unknown Eastern Front: The Wehrmacht and Hitler's Foreign Soldiers, Rolf-Dieter Müller, p. 83-84, I.B.Tauris, 2014, forcing General Nikolai Valutin to reinforce the Russian attack with another 500 tanks from the 17th, 18th and 25th Tank Corps"Contrary to German efforts to paint the Italians as scapegoats, the Cosseria and Ravenna Divisions put up unexpectedly tough resistance, forcing Valutin to commit three of his four tanks corps before he finally got his breakthrough." Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front 1941-1942, Robert Forczyk, Pen and Sword, 2014and with German reinforcements arriving too late"The attack at dawn failed to penetrate fully at first and developed into a grim struggle with Italian strongpoints, lasting for hours. The Ravenna Division was the first to be overrun. A gap emerged that was hard to close, and there was no holding back the Red Army when it deployed the mass of its tank forces the following day. German reinforcements came too late in the breakthrough battle." The Unknown Eastern Front: The Wehrmacht and Hitler's Foreign Soldiers, Rolf-Dieter Müller, p. 84, I.B.Tauris, 2014in the battle to salvage the situation. On 19 December, with the Italian lines disintegrating, ARMIR headquarters ordered the remnants of the Ravenna, Cosseria and Sforzesca divisions to withdraw to new lines. On 20 December, Italian rearguards covering the retreat were reported to be still fighting outside Stalingrad, according to German News Bureau (DNB, Deutsches Nachrichtenbüro).Nazis Admit Heavy Blows In Russia, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 21 December 1942) On 13 January 1943, the Russian Army launched the second stage of Operation Saturn. In the fighting, four armies from General Filipp Golikov's Voronezh Front overrun the Hungarian Second Army near Svoboda, forcing back the German 24th Army Corps, thus encircling the Italian Alpine Corps. Retreat to Nikolayevka On 17 January 1943, General Gabriele Nasci (commander of the Italian Alpine Corps) ordered the Italians to retreat. On 20 January 1943, the Tridentina, Julia, Vicenza and Cuneense Division began a 12-day march to safety, joined by German, Hungarian and Romanian units that placed themselves under Italian command. In the retreat to Nikolayevka, Russian tanks, armoured cars and infantry from the 48th Guards Rifle Division had attempted to block the Italians at Shelyakino, Novo Kharkovo and Varvara Olichovatka, but the Italians had overrun these positions. Battle Blocking force On the morning of 26 January 1943, the reconnaissance force of the Tridentina Division reached the town of Nikolayevka (now Livenka). A Russian division occupied Kikolayevka and Russian battalions soon attacked the settlements of Arnovtovo and Nikitovka in an attempt to surround the retreating Axis force but the Italian rearguards held firm in defence of both settlements ."Before the Italians put in their attack at Nikolayevka, the Russians attempted to spoil the operation with a night attack against the Italian-held hamlets of Arnovtovo and Nikitovka, Italian soldiers repulsed the Russian attacks on those localities..." Regio Esercito: The Italian Royal Army in Mussolini's Wars, 1935-1943, Patrick Cloutier, Lulu Press, 2013 Breakthrough The Italians began their attack at 0500 hours, one hour earlier than planned because they knew that at Nikolayevka, was the last Russian blocking force in their retreat to safety. However, the Russian forces fought hard, and after hours of fighting the Italian units became desperate as each hour increased the risk that Russian reinforcements would arrive."The Soviet defenders were in no mood to give up and put up a wall of fire into which the Alpini ran. Both sides understood the significance of the battle; for the Russians it meant victory and for the Italians, it meant survival." Death on the Don: The Destruction of Germany's Allies on the Eastern Front, Jonathan Trigg, The History Press, 2013 The chief-of-staff of the Alpine Corps, General Giulio Martinat, had earlier on been killed while leading an attack from the Edolo Battalion. General Luigi Reverberi, commander of the Tridentina Division, stepped onto one of the last remaining self-propelled guns as the sun began to set and, yelling "Tridentina, Avanti! (Tridentina Forward!), led his men personally in the final attack.http://www.quikmaneuvers.com/italian_army_blood.html Italian Army Blood]The Italians repelled a Russian counterattack before the final engagements that required house-to-house combat."The Soviets counter-attacked, but the Alpini pressed on, entering the streets and clearing the buildings with hand-grenades and machine-guns as they doggedly fought on." Death on the Don: The Destruction of Germany's Allies on the Eastern Front, Jonathan Trigg, The History Press, 2013 References Category:Battles in the Eastern Front Category:1942 Category:1943 Category:Battles Category:Battle of Stalingrad